The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

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HURRICANE THREATENS STORIED SOUTHERN CITIES: Hurricane Matthew spared Florida’s most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the South’s most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. Among the cities in the crosshairs were St. Augustine, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina. “There are houses that will probably not ever be the same again or not even be there,” St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver lamented as battleship-grey floodwaters coursed through the streets of the 451-year-old city founded by the Spanish. Matthew — the most powerful hurricane to threaten the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade — set off alarm as it closed in on the U.S., having left more than 300 people dead in Haiti.

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STORM PROMPTS CRUISE SHIP TO DIVERT TO HALIFAX: Hurricane Matthew has forced a Disney cruise ship to divert to Atlantic Canada. The Disney Magic was to leave New York City Friday for the Bahamas and Florida, but is now heading to the Nova Scotia ports of Sydney and Halifax as well as Saint John, N.B. The ship, which can carry 2,700 passengers, arrives Tuesday in Halifax.

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RCMP LOOKING AT SWITCHED-AT-BIRTH CASES: The RCMP says it has started an investigation into two cases of babies who were switched at birth at a northern Manitoba hospital more than 40 years ago. “The RCMP has an obligation to the families involved and to the public to determine if the incidents at the Norway House Indian Hospital were accidental or criminal in nature,” Mounties said in a news release Friday. They said the investigation will be separate from a review the federal government has already announced. Two men from Garden Hill First Nation revealed last year that DNA tests had proved they were switched at birth at the hospital in 1975. Two other men from Norway House, born at the same hospital in the same year, came forward with the same story in August. DNA tests confirmed their story last month.

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COMPANIES EXPECT BUSINESS IN THE US WILL SLOW: A new survey by the Bank of Canada suggests companies are preparing for slower growth in the U.S. due to uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election. The poll says some firms have noticed a recent soft patch in demand for their products and services from clients south of the border. Overall, the survey says firms’ sales growth expectations for the next 12 months have improved modestly from a weak level in the July edition of the quarterly poll.

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CANADIANS MAY PAY HIGHER RATES ON THEIR MORTGAGES: Mortgage brokers are warning that changes by the federal government will make it harder for non-bank lenders to operate. They say the result could be less competition and higher rates for homeowners. James Laird, president of mortgage company CanWise Financial says the non-bank mortgage lenders offer important competition for the big banks. Starting Nov. 30, new rules will place new limits on the types of mortgages that can be insured. The brokers say the change will make operating more difficult for non-bank mortgage lenders, who raise the money they use to lend to homebuyers by selling packages of insured mortgages to investors.

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KAINE TELLS SENIORS CLINTON WILL LOOK AFTER THEM: U.S. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine is telling seniors in swing state Nevada that his running mate Hillary Clinton would better look after their needs than Republican Donald Trump. Kaine told a retirement community outside Las Vegas that Clinton would be “rock solid” in her commitment to preserving Social Security. Trump has vowed to protect the safety net program for seniors, but Kaine said the Republican presidential candidate can’t be trusted because of his past criticism of Social Security. Trump once called the program a “Ponzi scheme” in one of his books.

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SERVICE AT DAMAGED NEW JERSEY TRAIN STATION TO RESUME NEXT WEEK: Rail service at a New Jersey transit station damaged after a deadly train crash will resume next week. New Jersey Transit says a portion of the Hoboken Terminal will reopen Monday morning. Investigators say the train was travelling twice the speed limit when it crashed into the station Sept. 29, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people. Service on the commuter line into the busy station that connects travellers to trains headed for New York City has been out since.

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The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

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